A Raquel
Neto Furtado De Andrade, trying to wed the fourth time was caught by the police
before she could tie the knot.
She had
already married three Nigerians to help them reside permanently in Britain,
collecting cash in return.
Her
attempt to marry again was foiled by a suspicious staff at the register office
who had given a tip off to immigration officials about a young woman practicing
bigamy and using the same wedding dress at each ceremony.
Thought
to be one of the country’s most prolific sham brides, she is now behind bars
serving a two-year sentence.
She
will be deported to her native Portugal on her release from prison.
Her
scam was exposed at Harrow register office in north London. Checks revealed De
Andrade had three ‘husbands’, none of which she had troubled to divorce. The
fourth groom, a 32-year-old Nigerian, was arrested with her and has been kicked
out of the country.
The
couple arrived at the register office with hardly any family or friends to
support them on their supposedly special day.
There
were unexpected guests however – in the shape of a team of immigration
officers. They pounced as the bogus ceremony was about to get under way.
De
Andrade, from Tottenham, north London, was charged with two counts of bigamy,
two counts of facilitation and one count of perjury. She admitted the charges
in February and was jailed at Harrow Crown Court on Tuesday.
The
hunt is still on for her three other husbands so they can be expelled too.
It is
estimated that 15,000 of the marriages that take place in England and Wales
each year are bogus. In January, an official report concluded the scams exploit
a ‘massive loophole’ in border controls.
Most
fake husbands are from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria. Sarah Burton.
‘This was a cynical attempt to bypass immigration controls.
THIS
BUSINESS MUST BE VERY LUCRATIVE BUT RISKY TOO
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